Five times his friends let Tony sleep
by Fracturedfixture
Summary: "Five times his friends let Tony sleep," or five times Tony was given small comforts from his friends (and may have possibly given a friend comfort).


**1. Pepper and Maria**

Pepper was in the middle of typing up an email to the administrative staff. She could have let JARVIS do it, but the AI worked pretty hard and Pepper liked office work. She was almost ready to send when an email popped up. It was a picture of Tony passed out in the lab, drool creating a pool around his face. Pepper took a deep breath and exhaled before releasing the smile she had been fighting.

The sender was Maria Hill, who was usually all business. At the bottom of the picture was the caption- "Should I wake him up?" It was one in the afternoon and if Tony slept, it meant he'd be awake when Pepper went to sleep.

Pepper appreciated Maria looking out for their relationship, but responded, "Let him sleep. He needs it!"

When Pepper went to bed that night, Tony popped in and gave her a kiss goodnight before going down to the lab.

**2. JARVIS**

Tony gestured at the suit. "Open up," he said and stifled a yawn.

"Sir, I don't recommend that. You're exhausted; operating your suit now could be dangerous."

Tony shook his head. "I had two cups of coffee. I got this."

JARVIS would have sighed then. But he opened the suit so Tony could climb in.

Tony did a little testing, target practice. He ensured the joints worked, because while his AI was skilled enough to do so for him, Tony liked being in his armor. But his movements gradually got slower and slower.

Tony got on the ground and laid on his back, intending to point his palm at the ceiling. He didn't. He fell asleep almost instantly when his body went horizontal. When his breathing was stable, JARVIS took control of the suit and walked it over to the couch in the next room over. He put the suit down on the cushions before ejecting each piece to fly off him as silently as possible.

Tony slept for a long four hours.

**3. Natasha**

The Russian super-spy was tired after a mission involving the Punisher. He'd been over-stepping his boundaries and killing members of a mafia S.H.I.E.L.D. had been watching. And reasoning with the stubborn ex-Marine had been just as difficult as Natasha had planned.

But the jet lag was something she hadn't factored in, and now she was too irritable to give her report immediately.

She was almost excited to back at Avengers Tower, where her room would be tidy and at a cool temperature. When she walked in, however...

Tony Stark was on her bed. Well, half of him was. The upper half of him was lying on her headboard, holding a poster on her wall. Most of the poster was curling over him, but Natasha got the gesture. She walked over and smoothed over the poster until it was straight on the wall. It was really just one big picture of a few middle-schoolers in Black Widow cosplay.

She smiled.

The thought was nice. While Tony knew she didn't like people in her room messing with her way of things, he must have thought she'd like the gesture enough to keep it in her room.

He was right.

She took the green push-pins that were in his hand and finished putting it up. She then slipped a hand gingerly under his head and the other around his knee. She pulled him down until he was flat on the bed, head on a pillow instead of the wall. Finally, she slid over the covers of the bed and let her left arm drift around his head to cradle it. She brought her right hand to cover his torso in a protective position.

They both could use some rest.

**4. Bruce**

They'd been working for just an hour. A blink of an eye, really, when you took into consideration that 36 hours was their record (with only three bathroom breaks because no, Bruce, it's not as important as these particles so get your gorgeous face over here and help me). Tony wasn't as hyped about this as he always was about science. He was treating it like work, rushing it and trying to get it over with.

Bruce sent a miscalculation to Tony by swiping the electronic screen in front of him. Tony looked at it for a second, his face lighting up with recognition that it was incorrect, then pushed it aside. Bruce bit his lip. "My calculation look alright, Tony?"

"Of course, Bruce," he said without looking up from the metal sphere in front of him.

Bruce walked over without the tense hero noticing until it was too late. Bruce put his hands on the table around Tony, blocking him in. The scientist was rarely so confrontational, but he knew stress when he saw it. "Tony, you need to stop."

"What do you mean?" He tried to play it cool.

Not going to work.

Bruce cut his sharp words off. He exhaled. Tony was tense and quick words weren't gonna fix it. Softly, Bruce put his head on the smaller scientists's shoulder. "What's wrong, Tony?"

Tony didn't fight the truth. Sarcasm wasn't going to solve him when Bruce was laying everything out to him like that. "Just-" his voice almost shook. "It's the Anniversary..."

Bruce wrapped his arms around Tony, digging his chin in the hero's shoulder a little. "I'm sorry- I should have known." Bruce gently moved them back and forth comfortingly. The Anniversary was the only one Tony referred to like that. The accident- no, the assassination- that killed his parents. And that's what made it worse. The cold reveal that the Winter Soldier had been the one to end his parents. Tony had spent too many years hating his dad for killing them both, and all of it should have been spent cherishing what was left of them.

Tony turned and hid his face in Bruce's neck, choking on his sobs. After a few minutes, Bruce lightly tapped Tony's shoulder. No response.

Bruce whispered in the sleeping man's ear, "you're okay, Tony. You're okay... We've got you."

**5. Captain America**

Tony walked out of the kitchen, having collected his beverage-y prize, and found a rare sight. Capsicle himself, sittin' on the couch. The soldier had been busy for so long, cleaning up Hydra business and helping S.H.I.E.L.D. rebuild. He'd also still been mourning the reveal of who the Winter Soldier was. But that'd been almost a year ago. It was nice to see Steve, even though Tony would never admit it.

"Cap-?"

Tony bit off his sarcastic welcome, something about being good enough to finally be graced with the celebrity's presence. But Steve was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands. Tony walked around and sat down next to him, glass of orange juice still in hand. He ran his hand up and down the Avenger's back soothingly. "Wanna watch a movie?"

It was as close as you could get to talking about feelings with Tony. Steve didn't lift his head out of his hands, but shook it up and down. Tony told JARVIS to "pick something good".

JARVIS started playing the movie Brave, from Disney. Steve looked up, face still red, and started watching it. Tony smiled and handed him the breakfast drink without a glance.

Steve accepted it.

The two of them sat through the movie all the way through. But neither of them finished watching it. They were leaning on each other, fast asleep.

JARVIS had the picture sent to the rest of the Avengers with the caption, "sweet dreams".


End file.
